It's Not What It Seems
by TheGrayWitch
Summary: Years have passed since Sarah Williams solved the Labyrinth and defeated the Goblin King. Now a new champion must rise to the challenge as Jareth abducts a young girl in hopes of making her his queen and her sister has to save her. Rated T for languague.
1. Chapter 1: Night Time Wanderings

**Chapter One: Night Time Wanderings**

**~Alyss~**

"_Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way to the castle beyond the Goblin city! To take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom is as great…"_

"'You have no power over me'. Then he's forced to give back the kid, blah blah, happily ever after," Thomas groaned, rolling his eyes. "Can't you pick a better story, Alyss?"

It was my turn to roll my eyes as I tucked his little sister, Anita, into bed. "Anita wanted to hear it, right 'Nita?"

The little blonde girl laying in the tiny princess bed grinned, her two front teeth missing. "Uh huh! Ish my favowite!"

That made me grin smugly at Thomas who just sighed and left the room grumbling about how pathetic we were. I just shook my head as I tucked the last bit of blanket the mattress.

"Finish the story, pwease," Anita asked, sticking out her lip in a cute little pout.

I smiled and sat down the bed. "Alright. Once the girl had declared that she wasn't his to rule, the Goblin King had no choice but to give her back the child. And so she went back home, loving the child like she had never before and things grew brighter for her as time passed. Her mother was still cruel but now she had her brother, who grew to become a fantastic king over the land,"

"And the Gobwin King?" Anita piped, eyes wide with curiosity. "Whuh happened to him?"

A little grin lit up my face. "Oh, he's around but he stays in his castle, never leaving the labyrinth. But," I leaned closer and whisper to her as if I was telling her some really important secret. "I hear he's always looking into his crystal ball, keeping watch over the girl for if she ever needed him all she needed to do was wish it,"

"Did she ever see him again?"

I shook my head sadly. "No, she didn't. But it may have been better that way,"

Anita pouted. "Well, I don't tink so! He loved her so he shoulda went to see her,"

I chuckled. "Well, you know what I think? I think it's time for a certain little girl to get to bed,"

"Aww!" She whined, sitting up. "But I'm not sleepy,"

"That may be," I said as I stood up and gently pressed her back down to the pillows. "But you still need to get some sleep. Good night, 'Nita,"

She yawned quietly and curled up on her side. "Night, night, Awyss,"

I smiled down at the girl as she closed her now tired eyes and patted the top of her head before turning away. Quietly flicking the overhead light off and checking to make sure her faerie nightlight came on, I left the room with the door slightly ajar. I left the room and yawned on my way to the living room where I found Thomas lounging on the couch. He turned his pale blue eyes on me and ran a hand through his longish dirt blonde hair.

"She asleep?" He asked, obviously talking about Anita.

I shrugged as I went to sit on the armchair across from him. "More or less," He shrugged back and leaned his head on the back of the couch. After about a minute of silence, I closed my eyes and let the whole flood of ideas and images flow into the forefront of my mind. To most, I'd look like I was asleep (and sometimes I would fall asleep like this) but I've learned to keep my ears open for any sound, especially after babysitting Anita so much. Under normal circumstances, with her fifteen year old brother there (same age as me, I might add), I would've gotten my money from him and have been on my way home. But said brother hasn't been the most responsible kid on the block and the last time he convinced me that it was alright for me to head out and leave him there, we both got an earful from his parents.

My mouth twitched at the memory so I decided to think about something else. The bedtime story I'd just finished telling was still on my mind, not that that was ever unusual so I decided to think about that. Ever since I was little, Grams would tell me that story ever night before bed. Even when I grew too old for bedtimes stories, she would still tell me that story when school got stressful or just life in general was being cruel. I didn't mind at all that I was hearing a fairy tale meant for putting a child to sleep. In fact, I absolutely loved it. The way she described the labyrinth the girl had to go through and all the little creatures she met was mesmerizing. I might as well have been watching a childhood movie.

Then Grams died and the stories stopped…I wish…I wish…

"Hey, Alyss?" Thomas asked suddenly, too used to my little trick to think I'd fallen asleep.

"Hmm?" Opening my right brown eye, I saw he was lean forward with his elbows on his knees and staring at me. "What?"

"What's it with you and that Goblin King story? You always tell that to Anita every time you come here,"

I close my eye again and shrug. "She asks for it every time. And I don't mind telling it to her. My Grams used to tell me that story all the time when I was little,"

"Yeah, I get that, but that's not all,"

I open my eye again. "And what do you mean by that?"

He scratched the top of his head like he was trying to figure out to speak his thoughts. "It's like…I don't know. The way you tell it is like you're so excited right along with her. No one does that anymore. Mom's tried to repeat the story when you're not here and it's not the same at all. Anita's always going 'Tewl it wike Awyss does! Tewl it wike Awyss does!' Never works,"

I laughed. "I dunno. I've loved that story for so long, I guess I still enjoy like I used to. That's not weird,"

"Humph," He frowned and leaned back. "Keep telling yourself that…"

My other eye snapped open (this one a sapphire blue) and I glared at him. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

He put his hands up in an I-surrender manner. "Hey, don't look at me. Just word has it that you're the freak of the week at school and it's all because of your silly interest in fairytales,"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please, that's not it and you know it,"

He just shrugged. "Sure, mouthing off to the people that can and will make your life hell doesn't help but neither does spending all you time with your nose buried in a book,"

"As opposed to what, exercising your thumbs talking about nonsense? Gee, that's a real step up from how I spend my time. But no, just because I actually like to do things with purpose I'm branded as some freaky witch hell bent on destroying the natural order of things!" With a huffed, I fell back against the chair and closed my eyes again.

Thomas gave an exasperated sighed. "C'mon, Alyss. Don't be like that,"

"Like _what_, Thomas?" My eyes opened again and were glaring. "What, pray tell, am I acting like?"

He glared back. "Like a – !"

The door then opened and was followed by a "We're home!" coming from a female voice. I looked up to see Thomas's parents coming into the house, apparently pleased with their night.

"Welcome back!" I called as I got up and nabbed my messenger bag that I'd sat next to the chair early before going up to the older couple. "I just put Anita to bed a couple minutes ago,"

Thomas's mother, who shared Anita's golden lock and Thomas's bright green eyes, smiled sweetly at me as she dipped her fingers into her purse to pull out a twenty. "Thank you so much, Alyss. We really appreciate the help. Same time next week?"

I nodded as I took the money and smiled. "Of course. Thank you, miss Martin. See you all later," With that I nabbed my pea coat and blue plaid scarf from the hook by the door and left, waving goodbye before closing the door. Sighing and walking quietly, I shrugged into my coat and tied the scarf around my neck before hanging the strap of my bag on my shoulder. The air had a slight chill which meant every exhalation resulted in a cloud of mesmerizing smoke floating out of my mouth as if I was some content dragon. I remembered being a little girl thinking she was a dragon when it got cold. Smiling at the memory, I made the trek home.

Most people would use their own car or ask for a ride at this time of night. Sadly, I didn't have the luxury of either. Besides, the Martin's weren't _too_ far from my place. Half an hour tops! Or fifteen minutes if I wanted to take my short cut through the cemetery but I only resorted to that when I was really running late or I had to lose anybody trying to heckle me. No one would follow me either because every numbskull in this place thought it was haunted. Not me, naturally, but then again, I'm the freak, remember?

"Hey, witch girl!" Oh, dammit. I peeked over my shoulder and saw a car crawl up to me. I kept walking so the thing kept crawling so the gaggle of giggling girls in the car could start their idiot babble.

"Hey, witch bitch! Where's your broomstick?" One girl sneered.

I grinned and turned. "Mine's at the shop! What about yours?"

The girl back off, unsure how to reply, but was replaced by another one. "Better watch out, witchy!"

"Yeah!" A third jeered. "Better hope it doesn't rain!"

What do they think this is, Wizard of Oz? I rolled my eyes and turned a corner, leaving the bimbos behind. A day in the life, right? I continued on my way, grateful for the almost full moon that light up enough of the night for me to see. Besides the car full of girls, I didn't really have any problems, which was perfectly fine by me. Most of the morons I'd have to deal with during the day were probably at some party and that car was one of the last of the stragglers.

Thinking it would be a good time to put on some music, I rifled through my bag to pull out my little blue mp3 player and a pair of black ear clip headphones. Clipping the headphones, I turned on the mp3 and smiled as a piano started to play and Tori Amos started to sing. Soon enough, I was singing along, feeling the music in my heart and not caring if anyone heard me.

"_Load up on guns  
>and bring your friends<br>It's fun to lose  
>And to pretend<br>She's overboard  
>And self-assured<br>Oh no, I know a dirty word_

Hello, hello, hello, how low  
>Hello, hello, hello<br>I'm worse at what I do best  
>And for this gift I feel blessed<br>Our little group has all always been  
>And always will be until the end<p>

Hello, hello, hello, how low  
>With the lights out it's less dangerous<br>Here we are now  
>Entertain us<br>I feel stupid and contagious  
>Here we are now<br>Entertain us  
>Yes<p>

_Hello, hello, ah-oohh  
>With the lights out, it's less dangerous<br>Here we are now  
>Entertain us<br>I feel stupid and contagious  
>Here we are now<br>Entertain us, yes_

_A mulatto  
>An albino<br>A mosquito  
>my libido<br>A denial  
>A denial<br>A denial  
>A denial<br>Yes…  
>A denial…<em>"

As the song ended, I noticed a pair of bright dark eyes watching me. I turned and noticed a barn owl in one of the trees and stopped. Huh, I don't remember barn owls being here… A warning feeling rose up in me, telling me to keep walk or better yet, run like hell. But why would that happen? It's just an owl and unless I get too close, it won't attack me. Then again…

"_Things are not always what they seem…"_ Grams would say and skirt away from the creature. I smiled, remembering the day we went to the zoo when I was little. Grams and I had just left the wolf enclosure (which made me thoroughly happy for seeing them and sad that we had to leave) when a woman holding a barn owl came from the bird barn to show it off. I was transfixed but Grams was wary. When I asked her why she seemed so scared of such a thing, she just smiled and said "things aren't always what they seem", a phrase I grew to know as her mantra at times. My father explained it to me later that Grams had always been nervous around that kind (and only that kind) of owl. Said she had a bad experience with one when she was younger it seemed. It still confused me but I just chalked it up to one of those strange things Grams did. Something I grew to get used to, especially after…

I shook my head and continued on my way, wanting to forget that owl before it brought back anymore unwanted memories. My step quickened as I hurried on home, hoping I wouldn't be too late.

**= ? =**

The owl stood on its perch in the tree, watching the girl with long dark hair skitter away, as if determined to get out of there as quick as possible. Its dark eyes followed the strange girl until she rounded a corner and disappeared. Then the owl leapt off the branch and flew into the sky, its path following the girl. From this high, there was no possible way for her to hear it, especially those silly contraptions in her ears.

The two continued their journey until the girl spotted a little white house and made a run for it. The owl followed in quick pursuit, unwilling to lose the girl. When she clambered onto the steps of the well-lit porch, the owl perched on another nearby branch and admired the girl as she knocked on the door. Long dark brown hair with half a foot of the ends dyed blue and reached the top of her legs. Thin, curvy body that looked perfectly healthy compared to those who like to starve themselves in attempts to be beautiful. She turned back to look behind her and the owl could see she had mismatched eyes, one chocolate brown and the other sapphire blue. In this light, her skin was fair but had a slight tan from being outside a lot.

The owl's observations of this girl were cut short when the door finally opened to reveal another girl, this one seemingly older than her little visitor. The owl's eyes widened at the sight of the second girl. Unlike the younger one, this girl had ebony locks that fell just to the middle of her back and pale green eyes. She was taller, thinner and much less curvy, like a ballet dancer, and had beautiful round pale green eyes. The owl watched in awe as the two hugged each other and smaller one stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

Satisfied, the owl hopped off the branch but as it floated down, its form shifted to that of a man. He was hard to see in the shadows of the tree but if anyone was looking at that point, they'd see a tall figure in something like a cloak and a small round shiny object behind juggled in his hands. The man watched the house for a time, shifting the crystal ball in his hand back and forth. He continued to watch the house until all the lights went out, except for one small light in the attic window.

He smiled and the man melted into the night, whispering quietly to himself. If one listened hard enough, they would here ever so lightly, the man's quiet voice on the wind.

"Such a pity…"

_**A/N:**_ Hello ^^ TheGrayWitch here, formally known as AlyssCromwel. For those of you who've read my earlier stuff, I changed my name because I had too many people making a fuss about my main OC having the same name as my pen name. So I decided to fix that ^^ This is my first Labyrinth fanfic so constructive critisism in great but please don't flame me XP Hope you all enjoy and I'll try to update as soon as I can!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!

~TGW


	2. Chapter 2: Morning Muddle

**Chapter Two: Morning Muddle**

**~Alyss~**

_Where is she? Where could she be in this chaos? I thought as I shoved a dancing couple away. I might as well be actually blind despite how thin the blindfold was. There was just too much chaos for me to see. _

"_Please, please don't be too late," I whispered, shoving past another masquerader. _

"_My, aren't you a sight?" A cool voice spoke in my ear. I whirled around and through the gauze I could see _him_. The Goblin King. The man responsible for all of this…this…_madness_. He seemed to scrutinize me for a moment, unsure of what to make of me. "I'm sorry, have we met before? You seem familiar…"_

_Swallowing, hoping my quiet shy voice wouldn't tip him off and answered. "No, your majesty, we have not. But I would be a fool to say that it isn't a pleasure to have finally done so," I lightly curtsied, turning my "gaze" to his boots and praying to every possible deity that it was enough. I felt his hand touch the bottom of my chin and guide my face up to "look" at him. _

_The King scrutinized my face again before taking my hand and lightly kissing it. "The pleasure is mine, miss…?"_

"_Azreal," I said, blushing though I wasn't sure really why. _

"_Azreal…" He said it like he'd just sipped a new wine and was testing the flavor of it. The Goblin King then smiled and bowed before offering his arm. "May I please have this dance?"_

_Not really having a choice, I nodded and took his hand. Next thing I know, I'm twirling in the arms of the Goblin King and apparently all eyes are on us according to all the murmuring I'm hearing over the music. It's like I'm Cinderella dancing with the prince at a ball I really shouldn't be at. Only this time, when time runs out, I'll have worse things to worry about than a simple glamour being lifted… _

!

"Ugh," I groaned and rolling over to look at the alarm clock that was screaming from across the room. 6:30 AM. Time for me to get up. Yawning, I stretched in bed and stumbled out of it, barely moving my feet as I made my way to the wailing device. With the flick of a switch, the alarm was turned off and I was surrounded my sweet silence. No one else would be up at this ungodly hour, aside from my kitten who I could hear scratching quietly at my door. As I let out another giant yawn, I went to open the door to let a dark tabby kitten with very distinct tiger-like markings pad into the room. He made a little squeaky "mew" before darting in and leaping onto my bed so he could go up to the window.

"Morning to you too, Bubo," I yawned as I closed the door and went to the vanity dresser tucked into the corner. He said nothing and just stared out the round window. My room was originally the attic before I came to live here, so my little window gives me a view of the whole block from up here. I don't mind that my room is the atypical scene of a horror movie. Actually, it's quite nice up here, especially during rainy weather. The _pitter, patter_ of raindrops has a tendency to act as a little lullaby for me while I try to sleep.

I rifled through my dresser drawers and pulled out a pair of dark jeans, a black button-up sleeveless shirt, a pair of white and black striped arm warmers and a pair of white socks before laying them along the top of the dresser and changing out of my Cheshire Cat T-shirt and Mickey Mouse pajama bottoms. Once dressed in clothes suitable for school, I swiped the brush that was lying on my desk and started taming the rat's nest known as my hair. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught my reflection in the mirror onto of my dresser. Somewhere in the middle of brushing my hair, I stopped and stared at myself in the mirror.

The first things I saw were my eyes. My freaky, out of place eyes. _Hetero_ _chromia_, my parents called it. Grams said they were fey eyes, though I was the nicest faerie she knew. _Mom, Dad, Grams…_My eyes turned to the picture I'd stuck into the sides of the mirror. Some were little pictures of random things I found, like a smiling cartoon cat and a white werewolf like creature holding a spear. But there were a couple that was really photographs. There was one of me as a giggling smiling child dressed up as a witch with both my parents holding me in some awkward fashion that probably lasted just long enough to take the picture. Another was an older version of me sitting with Grams on a stone bench in probably a park.

Blinking away the tears that formed in my eyes, I turned away from the mirror and continued to brush my hair. Did I ever mention that both my parents are dead? Yeah, well, they are. Died in a car crash on the way home from a New Year's party when I was eight. I was staying at Grams and we spent the night pretending that I was going through the labyrinth in her story, trying to find the Goblin King before midnight. It was a game we played every New Year's Eve that consisted of her turning the house into the labyrinth and leaving puzzles and riddles meant to lead me to the Goblin King. That year, I'd found the elusive King (who was in the form of a stuffed barn owl doll with a crown on top of its head) long before midnight and we celebrated my "victory" with sparkling cider and Gram's famous snicker doodles, my favorite. Even though I was "too old" for this sort of thing, I'd had a blast and thought nothing could rain on my parade.

Then morning came and my fantasy was shattered by the news that Mom and Dad were dead. Those first few weeks were a strange blur to me. It was as if my senses were dulled and all I was an empty shell walking around. Grams took me in and raised me until last year ago when she got sick. I can't remember what it was but it was something that in a normal person it would've been perfectly fine. But Grams was old, having lived to be in her eighties or something…Still, it didn't make those last few weeks of hospital visits which turned into hospital stays any easier. I spent every night with Grams, praying, wishing for her to pull through.

I could tell you a happy ending, that she pulled through and living happily somewhere just within my reach to see her. But I'd be lying, wouldn't I? The only good thing was she died quietly in the middle of the night and not alone. I was there, gripping her hand until it went limp in mine. I must've scared the crap out of the night staff because all I could remember was the chaos of screams (probably me), sobbing (I'll take the blame for that too) and a flurry of activity (that was most likely the orderlies fault but when you have a thirteen year old suddenly wailing like a banshee, could you blame them?). Everything was a messy hurricane of crying and screaming. The only clear cut thing I remember of that episode, to the put that it's practically burned into the back of my eyelids, is Grams lying there so peaceful and still. Too still. For weeks, that image haunted me and still does when it crops up.

Shaking my head, I finished getting ready. It's not the time to be self-pitying right now. Once I was finished preparing for the day, I stepped out of my room and went down the small set of stairs that brought me down to the hall of the second floor. Quietly, I tip toed my way across the hall, past my adopted parents, Peter and Janet's room and Sara's room. I guess I could really consider myself luck I'd been adopted like this. This was the first family I'd stayed with longer than just a month. I'd been in a couple others but being that I was already a teenager (and a rather odd one, according to the staff at the foster homes), it made life difficult to adjust to the situation quickly. Besides, most of the parents were people couldn't have children of their own or wanted to go through raising a child again. Hard to "raise" a teenager it seems. I think the only reason this worked out was because of Sara. In the other homes, I never really had someone I could relate to on a personal level.

Sara was older than me by about three years and much prettier. Which ended up working in her favor it seems. That and she was much gentler and more polite than I turned out to be in this place. She was the socialite while I was the recluse. So many people like her where a most hadn't a clue what to do with me and figure I was some delinquent child since I was in the foster care. All in all, she's the star and I'm the stage hand.

If I sound jealous, I'll admit it. Just not out loud, because despite that, I really do love my sister. Besides for maybe two other outsiders (and a certain little girl I tend to babysit), she was all I really had. So, yeah, I'm jealous but I'm not going to let it get to me. At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

Anywho, back to the main story, I'd finally gotten past all the bedrooms and was carefully coming down the stairs, making sure to skip the creaky step near the bottom. Once that challenge was cleared, I made my way to the kitchen to start on breakfast. It takes me the longest to get "awake" so I'm always the first one up, which means I'm the one to make breakfast or at least some semblance of it. I'm an okay cook now but in the beginning I burned almost anything I touched. Sure I used to "cook" with Grams but I was usually the one to mix and prep the food, not actually man the stove. Thankfully, Sara was willing to give me a few pointers and now I can make some things pretty well like spaghetti and French toast, the latter being what I decided to make that morning.

As I went through the motions of getting the egg mixture right while waiting for the pan to get hot, my mind drifted to my dream last night. I couldn't quite get it but I did sort of enjoy it. It had that fairytale quality to it which, if I haven't mentioned already, automatically put it on my list of top favorite dreams. But there was something odd about it…I couldn't quite explain it but the man in my dreams seemed strangely familiar. I remember referring to him as the "Goblin King" but there's no way in hell he could be the same king from Grams' story. And even if he was, why was I trying to hide from him? Call me crazy but I'd always wanted to meet the Goblin King as a child. Grams never made him out to be some horrible villain and what not. Nope, the way she would talk about him made the King sound like the most interesting person in the world. But, sadly, he is a fairytale and fairytales don't exist. But a girl can dream, right?

Replaying the dream in my head (and except with less trepidation and more confidence), I settled into my cooking. In no time, I had a nice big stack on a platter just waiting to be gobbled up and just in time too because I started to hear a couple alarms similar to mine go off. Smiling, I flipped the last slice onto the platter and started to set up the table. Seeing's how we only had four people living in the house, our dining table was fairly small so we didn't have a dining "room". More like a dining area that also acted as the junction between the kitchen and the living room. But it was nice, all the same.

"Morning, Alyss," a quiet voice chimed into the room. I turned to see my older sister practically float to the table and I smiled.

"Morning, Sara," I grinned, waving my spatula at the scene. "Got breakfast up, hope you're hungry,"

She sniffed the air and smiled. "Smells great, Alyss. You seem to be really getting the hang on this,"

I shrugged bashfully. "Well, I try," We both served ourselves and sat next to each other at the table as the sound of large shuffling feet came from the stairs.

"Good morning, you two," Peter yawned as he came to the table, dressed in a bathrobe over a T-shirt and pajama pants. "Ahhh! Alyss's famous French toast! Delicious!"

I smiled as he piled his plate high with food. Peter was a graphic novelist and a pretty good one too, so his work was spent mostly at home. Sure, his stuff wasn't at the top like Naruto or Bleach but it wasn't at the bottom either. More like the respectable middle, not so rich that he'd never have to work again but not so poor that he felt obligated to. Especially not with Janet….

"Good morning, everyone," A crisp female voice came into the room. Trying not to seem like a child in trouble, I turned to the stairs again to see Janet in a crisp grey suit and heels, her ever-present suitcase in hand and her pale blonde hair pulled in a tight bun on top of her head. She turned her nose up slightly at the toast and went to the fridge to grab an apple before going over to Peter and giving him a small peck. "Sorry, have to go into the office again. Goodbye, Sara, Alyss," She patted Sara's shoulder and just gave me a nod and was out the door.

Sighing to myself, finished my food, reminding myself that Janet only didn't eat my food because she's on a diet to keep slim so she wouldn't lose her "image" as a lawyer. Sara and Janet shared the same twig like figure and delicate features. If Sara hadn't inherited her father's dark hair, you'd swear they were sisters. Half the time, I felt like just a disappointment to Janet seeing's how I had no interest in the more "respectable" career. Nope, I was a singer, a musician and that's all I ever wanted in life. Sometimes I'd right little poems and short stories here and there but nothing compared to singing with my heart or playing an instrument like the piano or the harp, my two favorites. I'd tried violin once before but just couldn't get the hang of it. But thankfully, I wasn't the only "defying" their mother. Sara was a painter and a damn good one at that. She even used the basement as a studio sometimes.

At school, her paintings were famous, always on display during parent days to show off. Sometimes I got asked to play the piano to entertain the guest but that was rare. Not that I minded, really. Most people weren't every interested in my music anyway. Parents these days were more into the sports and business activities, not so much the arts anymore. Apparently, I was born in the wrong time where I had no interest in business and didn't have single athletic bone in my body. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.

Breakfast continued quietly until I took the last bite of French toast and happened to glance up at the clock to notice it was seven thirty. Time to head out to purgatory. After taking my plate and putting it in the sink, I headed upstairs to nab the messenger bag I always like to keep around, smoothing over the flap that depicted a pair of aqua colored cat eyes and a wide toothy grin over a flat black background. I checked the bag to make sure all I needed was in it then heading back down stairs. Sara was already at the door with her backpack, carefully tying the laces of her neat white tennis shoes. I nabbed my black and white high tops from by the door and my coat from the hook before following her out into the cold morning.

The sky was dull grey and very depressing, which didn't help the fact it was cold out. I pulled my coat tighter around me and made a point to keep moving before I froze. Sara didn't seem to mind the cold at all since she had her coat open to show her white blouse underneath. It made me shiver just looking at her. We walked a couple blocks before someone decided to break the silence.

"So, sleep well, Alyss?" She asked in her quiet little voice.

I looked up from my feet, my face half covered by the collar of my coat. "Hmm? Oh yeah, fine. Had an interesting dream though,"

"Oh? What about?"

I shrugged. "I think I was trying to rescue someone at a masquerade ball and started dancing with this king. He kinda reminded me of the Goblin King from Grams old story,"

"The one about the girl who goes through the labyrinth,"

"Yep!"

"What's so weird about that?"

"I'm not sure…but it seemed too real to just be a dream, ya know? Like it was a warning or something. I dunno, maybe I'm being silly,"

Sara put her arm around my shoulder and hugged me into her side. "But you my silly," She smiled, trying to make me feel better and working. "Hmmm, that almost gives me an idea for a painting. You wanna model for me?"

"Sure, I don't mind,"

"That's great, now, can you remember what you were wearing in the dream?"

"I think so…"

The walk continued on like that until we got to school, with me describing my dream in a little more detail and her jotting down notes in a little pad she always kept in her pocket. This was a common occurrence for us. I'd have some off the wall dream, tell her about and she'd turn it into one of her paintings. I'm her "muse", she put it and I cherished that, thankfully to have some had at her greatness, albeit a minor one.

Once we arrived at school, we went our separate ways. Her to her locker in the senior hall and me to the regular guy's lockers. Being a freshman in highschool wasn't soooo bad. Except I didn't really know too many people here at the beginning while everyone knew each other since preschool. Oh well, can't be helped.

I went to my locker and stashed my stuff except for a binder and some books before heading off to class. Or at least I meant to, till a certain gothic whirlwind smacked into me.

"Mock!" A voice cried as a pixie like girl with short spikey black hair crashed into me and started hugging the breath out of me.

"Hi Raven," I coughed, gasping for air. "Raven", or Natalie ad most other called her, leapt off of me and stood in front of me. She was my height with a much more twig like appearance that resembled a fairy rather than someone with the thinness gene. "Raven" was the nickname I gave her because she always wore tons of black, rarely any color, which made her already pale complexion stark white. I was "Mock", short of "Mocking bird" for my singing ability and the fact I usually ended up the one beaten the crap out of when trying to defend my friends. We met as fellow outcast because her family had just moved here this summer. Wanted a change of scenery I guess.

Natalie grinned up at me and linked her arm with mine as we walked along the hall. "So, what's the mocking bird up to this morning?"

"Nothing much. And the raven?"

"Same old, same old. Say, do you know if we got a quiz in English or not?"

"Yep, Poe told us that last week,"

Natalie groaned. "Dammit! I thought Ollie was pulling my leg. I didn't even study for it,"

I sighed. "Don't worry. Luckily, one of us DID study,"

"Study what?" Another arm snaked around my free one and I looked up to see my friend Oliver walked beside us. He was tall with mousy brown hair that stuck out everywhere no matter how much you messed with it. He was tall and gangly and with his wire rimmed glasses and pale complexion he looked like the typical geek. Which was not too far off the mark since he was our "techie" of the group.

I grinned. "Oh, the quiz in English,"

He grinned back and looked at Natalie. "See? Told ya there was one," Natalie grumbled incoherently.

"Oh, c'mon you too, settle down," I said, trying to be the diplomatic one here. "We'll do some last minute studying at lunch, okay? Fair?"

Nat grumbled again before saying "Yeah, sure,"

I nodded. "Alright, not if you excuse me, I've got Pre Al to catch up to!" With that said, I unlinked my arms from my friends and sprinted to the class room. I'd made it just in time as the warning bell went off. As I went to my seat by the window, I noticed that owl from last night sitting on a branch just outside. I'd assume it was the same owl but what would a barn owl be doing out in the middle of the day? Anyways, no matter, it wasn't important anyways so I shrugged it off and made it a point to pay attention to the equations on the board, trying to ignore the big dark eyes staring at me the entire time.

_**A/N:**_ Hello all! I want to thank those who've already favorited and added this story to their alerts ^^ I makes me so happy! And I'm really sorry this chapter's so slow XP It just wasn't cooperating well. But the action shall be hear soon! Hopefully in the next chapter if it behaves ^^; Oh! And I forgot to mention but the song in the last chapter was Tori Amos's cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". I do love the original by Nirvana but there's just some so ethereal about Tori's version that I couldn't help myself ^^; Anyways, thank you for reading and please leave a contribution in the little box. In other words, REVIEW! I'll get done faster!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!

~ TGW


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